If you’re facing a divorce or you’ve found out that you have to fight abuse allegations, you should hire a divorce attorney for men. A highly qualified and experienced lawyer can help you fight unfair allegations, gain access to the assets that rightfully belong to you, and get the best child custody agreement possible. What’s more, they can find any hidden assets and negotiate alimony or child support payments.
5 Reasons to Consider Hiring a Divorce Attorney for Men
1. You Need to Divide Your Assets
In a divorce, the division of assets can be one of the most challenging issues. In Georgia, anything that was acquired separately before the marriage or, occasionally, during the marriage, belongs to the person who owns it. Marital property, which is acquired together, gets split up equally or in a way the judge deems fair. For example, a stay-at-home parent will be entitled to some of the savings of the working parent because they managed the household.
While the rules are clear, it’s sometimes hard to determine exactly what can be considered personal property and what should be considered joint. For example, if the working spouse had a pension they brought into the marriage and kept contributing to, finding out what proportion of the money is marital property can be very hard due to investment growth. For this reason, hiring one of Atlanta’s top men’s rights divorce attorneys is a good idea.
2. You Want to Get Child Custody
In recent years, the percentage of custodial fathers has risen to over 20%. While this is very encouraging, it is still harder for fathers to get custody than for mothers. Legally, both parents have an equal right to the children, but this isn’t always upheld in court. In many cases, favoring the mother is unfair because fathers can be just as competent at raising children as mothers.
In fact, children living with their fathers might be better off financially. According to research by the Institute for Family Studies, the average custodial father earns over $20k more than a comparable custodial mother, so there is a lower likelihood of poverty. To make sure you’re getting a fair chance and are not put at a disadvantage due to your gender, you should hire a divorce attorney who has experience working with child custody cases like yours.
3. You Want to Negotiate Alimony or Child Support Payments
Around 400,000 people get spousal support in the US, but only 3% of them are men. There are many reasons for this, but if you’re entitled to alimony, your attorney can discuss the advantages of requesting it and help you gain access to it.
A good lawyer will also work with you if you have to pay alimony or child support to your spouse. Often, the amount can be negotiated, and it can be re-evaluated as time goes by. For instance, you might be able to decrease the amount you pay if your income decreases, your spouse goes back to work, or your personal circumstances change.
4. You Need to Fight Abuse Allegations
Sometimes, a former spouse might make false allegations of abuse in order to gain full custody or more assets than they are entitled to. These cases are some of the most difficult to fight, so you’ll need to contact the best attorney you can find. If you’ve been accused of sexual or domestic violence, reach out to a lawyer immediately. Abuse allegations are taken very seriously, and you will need an excellent defense to prove that you are not guilty.
Together, you and your lawyer will find evidence of your innocence. This might include videos, photos, statements by witnesses and acquaintances, and written records such as letters and electronic communications.
5. You Believe Your Spouse Is Hiding the Truth
When there are significant assets to divide up in a divorce, one party often hides some of the money in order to keep it for themselves. Telltale signs are disappearing financial documents, passwords that have recently been changed, and deleted digital records. If you believe that your spouse may be hiding assets from you, you should resist the temptation to confront them directly or try to find the missing money yourself.
Instead, you can speak to a men’s rights attorney, who will investigate the situation for you. Because lawyers have a lot of contacts in related fields, it will be easy for them to gain access to the relevant information. What’s more, if you allow your attorney to handle the situation for you, you won’t be at risk of doing something illegal or something that could be viewed negatively in court.
Hiring a divorce attorney for men is a good idea if you’re going through a separation that involves a complex split of assets, alimony or child support, or a child custody issue. Additionally, a men’s rights attorney can help you fight abuse allegations and discover hidden or missing assets. Because they have years of experience and many industry connections, they can resolve your case much more quickly and get a better outcome than you could on your own.